


Catch Twenty-two (kids)

by Spoon888



Series: Bayverse Hatchling Fics [1]
Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: A Better Reunion Than They Had In Canon, Hatchlings, Implied Mech Preg, Just Where DID Those Hatchlings Come From?, M/M, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), nuzzling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-10 21:46:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16462931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spoon888/pseuds/Spoon888
Summary: After his resurrection in Revenge of the Fallen, Megatron returns to the Nemesis and learns that Starscream's been busy filling the ranks in his absence.





	Catch Twenty-two (kids)

Megatron had little patience for the small and the weak, and the hoard of hatchlings currently underpede fit both those descriptions.

With so few of his followers left he'd expected little fanfare upon his return to what remained of the _Nemesis_ , crashed and half buried in martian sand. The bulkheads glowed a cool blue- on emergency lighting. An indication of how little fuel they had left, and no doubt these hatchlings were making swift work of what remained.

He growled, nudging their twittering forms aside with his pede. Weak and unbalanced, they fell about scrambling, squeaking in protest, their wings wriggling in annoyance.

He hummed thoughtfully. _Wings_.

With long tapered claws he'd reached into the scrambling mess of little ones. He hooked one by it's scruff and lifted it with ease. It's plating was a dull grey, armour still translucent in places where it hadn't yet thickened. It twisted and hissed at him, tiny mouth already full of sharp denta, limbs flailing.

He bared his own denta in warning, but it did little to curb the tiny one's insolence. Such bold defiance could only be hereditary.

Undoubtedly, they belonged to Starscream.

There were also too many of them. Clutches were large to maximise the potential of a breeding cycle and a carriers investment in reproducing. The healthiest hatchlings were favoured, nurtured with the best fuel and resources and attention, promoting the best coding; yet this mismatched bunch of spawn were _all_ well fed and cared for.

Megatron eyed them, looking for the runts, thinking if Starscream was too soft sparked to the do the job, he would bloody his claws in his stead.

As if sensing his intentions the hatching in his grasp began to chirp. The sharp noise echoed through the empty space. It's siblings began to follow suit, throwing their helms back and opening their vocalisers, their tiny frames jumping with the effort of creating such a loud noise.

Deeper within the ship, a stronger, clearer chirp answered.

Megatron braced himself. The hatchlings continued to call for their carrier and the carrier in question answered with inquisitive, concerned clicks, until finally, Starscream appeared out of the shadows, his wings ramrod stiff.

Megatron took him in. Their time apart had changed Starscream. His armour was symbolically painted and his plating a little looser- the latter likely his plentiful offspring's doing. He looked better for it, somehow. 

Starscream did not look pleased to see him. He hissed, hunkering down defensively when he recognised Megatron beyond his repairs and alterations, and the odd bit of sea weed still dangling from his plating. Despite this, there was no grovelling, no cowering. Only a carrier that seemed far too addled by carrying protocols to remember respect for his master.

"Starscream." Megatron growled, vocaliser rumbling with menace. The hatchlings clambering over his pedes seemed to recognise the tone and scattered, fleeing for the safety of their creator.

Megatron kept hold of his singular captive, ignoring it's miserable squealing.

"That. Is _mine_." Starscream's voice came out in a low, hoarse hiss. He seemed to get closer to the ground, his limbs tense as though ready to pounce. His hatchlings reached him and began scratching at his plating, trying to climb his legs.

Megatron snorted, making the hatchling he held jump. "Been busy in my absence, I see."

Starscream said nothing, his optics bright, his stare as sharp as a knife- he was frightened.

Foolish seeker had let himself become attached to his spawn. Megatron wondered why, when these hatchlings' only purpose in life was to fight and die for their cause anyway.

Or perhaps it had been the _sire_ Starscream had been attached too? Yes, and these useless little things were all he had left of him. How sentimental.

Megatron repressed a curl of jealously at the thought of how swiftly his air commander had moved his attentions to the next mech, how he had submitted his frame to carry the coding of another. All whilst his true master had rusted at the bottom of the ocean...

He lifted the hatchling again, peering at it closely. Ten claws and two optics and dozens of deadly denta, small and well formed. The product of healthy compatible coding. He drew it close to his face, not missing how Starscream tensed again, wings flicking.

Curious, he gave the hatchling an inquisitive sniff, testing it's coding.

His vents hitched with surprise at the familiar scent. His processor unlocked previously unused, dusty old protective protocols. These hatchlings reeked of _him_. His olfactory decoded the scent and pinged positively in his processor as his.

His hatchlings.

The tension drained from his frame as archaic protocols fed him all that he needed to know. It came to him like second nature.

He chuffed gently at the hatchling, and after a confused pause, it tweeted back, wriggling with excitement were it had with fear before.

Megatron chuffed again, louder this time, and the noise of tiny pedes skittering and running across the decking filled his audials as the rest of his hatchlings rushed back to him, bouncing and beeping and trying to scale his legs.

With an indulgent rumble, he nuzzled his hatchling's tiny form before lowering it back to the decking, allowing it to join it's siblings.

There had to be twenty of them, at least. Most of them had wings, all of them were healthy. He understood Starscream's reluctance to cull the weak now. Perhaps it was a shared delusion between creators, but he thought they a fine clutch. Handsome and strong, all of them.

He lowered his servo again and scratched his claws against their plating, roughly tickling those within reach, watching with bemusement as they shrieked and tumbled and tried to bite him.

"Be gentle with them." Starscream's oily voice reproached.

Megatron straightened up and saw Starscream had made his way across the decking and was stood with his arms crossed over his wide chest. He looked petulant at the sudden lack of attention, from both hatchlings and leader.

"You've done well." Megatron ignored his sulky demeanour and instead focused on the potential of his heirs.

"They need fuel." Starscream drawled. "I haven't been able to seek any. They can't be left alone or they'll eat each other."

Megatron considered Starscream's words as he was scratched and chewed on, and concluded a carrier would likely know best. He'd been raising them well enough all this time in his absence.

He was also aware that he was being watched intently, Starscream assessing his suitability. He thought it unlikely that he wouldn't deemed acceptable, as few carriers were trusting enough to leave their hatchlings with mechs that weren't their sire, and Starscream didn't have any alternative options.

"How long will you be gone?"

Starscream's wings lifted in a shrug. "A week. More or less."

Megatron growled, "Make it less."

There was a hiss, "There are twenty two of them." Starscream said seriously, "So I'll know if you step on any of them."

"Is that anyway to speak to your master?"

Starscream snickered nastily. "It's the way to speak to ignorant sires."

Megatron growled angrily, and the hatchlings squealed and rushed out from between them when he caught Starscream by the wing and yanked him close. Ignoring the shrill squawk of indignity, Megatron knocked their helms together roughly, staring into Starscream's optics until the seeker seemed to yield in his arms, armour loosening out of it's locked formation.

Megatron softened his stare, and Starscream tilted his helm up and nuzzled affectionately at his jaw, blinking slowly, trustingly.

Megatron let his engines rumble with a purr, his vents expelling heat over Starscream.

"...Be careful with my hatchlings." Starscream said one last time, voice rough and low, his claws cupping the back of Megatron's battered helm. "I won't be giving you more."

Megatron huffed, releasing him. He was resigned to the hoard of hatchlings that closed in on him again, regrouping as soon as they saw their chance. They were brave and energetic, and he swiftly found himself fond.

"That's what you think." he purred lecherously.

Starscream rolled his optics, as insolent as ever.

Megatron felt it was long overdue he put this seeker back in his place.

 


End file.
